Morelli, who was previously married to long-term boyfriend and fellow television writer Steve Basilone, said she started questioning her sexuality while writing for the show. She came to the realization that she was gay, and she and Basilone got a divorce in 2014. The two reportedly split amicably, and Morelli appeared on one of Basilone's podcasts in 2016.

"I am now out to my family, my friends and most of my co-workers on 'Orange,'" Morelli wrote in an essay for Mic. "Now, when I am in the writers' room or on set, I no longer feel like I am stuck in the middle of two truths. I belong because my own narrative fits in alongside the fictional stories that we are telling on the show: stories of people finding themselves, of difficult paths and of redemption."

After her divorce, Morelli began dating Wiley, who she met on set.

"I went through it all on set: I fell in love with a woman, and I watched my life play out on screen," Morelli wrote. "And now ... it feels liberating and appropriate to live my life in front of ('OITNB' fans)."